Chemical Reactions that Solve the Crime

This curriculum unit explores the chemical reactions involved in the collection and processing of evidence from a crime scene or other types of cases that the crime lab would investigate. The main focus emphasis is fingerprinting, blood spatter analysis and forensic toxicology. It provides opportunities for students to work individually and collectively in the roles of criminal laboratory technicians. The unit integrates many strategies to engage students in learning the content, making connections to other sciences as well as connections to the world beyond the classroom.